Marked
by necowaffer
Summary: Darcy doesn't really question it when Thor explains soulmarks are common among the Nine Realms and Jane is his soulmate because sure, why not? He's a Space Prince and all. Besides, it's not like something like that is going to happen to her. [Tasertricks][Oneshot]


Darcy wandered into the kitchen area of the lab to find Thor and Jane cooking breakfast and looking oddly satisfied with each other. At the table, Eric looks like he's thinking he's too old for this shit as he nurses a black coffee and the worse hangover if she's ever seen one. She almost feels bad for the old guy but she's distracted by the heart emojis those two are tagging each other with.

When Jane _finally_ sits down, giving Thor a dreamy smile as he serves her scrambled eggs, Darcy can take no more.

"What did you two do last night," she leans over and stage whispers to her boss.

Jane _blushes_ prettily, and damn if she isn't as beautiful as she is smart, while shooting Darcy a dirty look she's come to decipher as _shut up_. "We didn't _do_ anything." She replies with a tight lipped smile.

"Uh huh," Darcy replies doubtfully and eyes Thor as he sits across the table.

Jane shook her head in exasperation at Darcy's more than obvious insinuation. "We just talked," she said primly and Thor gives her a big, lopsided grin. "Thor was explaining his understanding of the universe and their science and magic and I'm right about the Einstein-Rosen Bridge -"

And then she's off, explaining something about a world tree and rainbow bridges and realms. It's hard for Darcy to follow, but Eric seems interested enough and Thor occasionally looks up from his meal to smile encouragingly as Jane explains what she's learned from him. It's almost disappointing how quickly Darcy's idea of knocking space boots is killed, even if she has to live vicariously through her boss. That's right up until she notices the brand new scar crisscrossing Jane's arm as she reaches to brush her hair behind her ear.

"Oh my god, what is that?" Darcy interrupts in shock.

Jane immediately knows what she's talking about and tries to cover her arm from view, but Dary's too fast. At first she's pissed because she thinks Jane's been hurt and if tasing the god once didn't get it through his thick skull she had no problem doing it again. But when she pushes the flannel sleeve up Jane's arm she realizes this is something else entirely and can only stare at the pale, jagged _marks,_ not scars as she first thought, that ran up Jane's arm and disappeared in her shirt.

"It is my soulmark," Thor says softly but proudly.

"What?" Because Darcy literally has no idea what to say to that nonsense. Jane can only look at her helplessly, a little more than overwhelmed, but nonetheless just as pleased by this information.

"My soul recognizes Jane's as my one true match. We bear each other's mark and shall until death separates us." His voice still has that uncharacteristic softness to it laced with awe as his eyes trace the visible marks on Jane's arm.

"What?" Darcy looks to Eric, relieved to find that he is just as lost as she is. She hears him mumbled something along the lines of "you're kidding me" as his fork hits the plate and bounces to the floor.

"Are you saying you're like soulmates? Seriously? Jane?" Darcy wants to look around the room for Ashton Kutcher as if maybe he's going to jump out and yell PUNKED! And honestly she'd really welcome it. Not only because that show was a national treasure, but also because it would easily explain all the weird shit that's been going on the last couple days.

Unfortunately Jane only clears her throat. "It's true," she says, tugging her sleeve down and taking a drink of her coffee. "I can't really explain why it happened but it did."

Thor smiles with understanding that Jane is overwhelmed. Apparently a night to sleep on finding your soulmate was hardly enough time to comes to terms with the reality.

"Soulmates and soulmarks are quite common among the Nine Realms. Midgard is young. Your people even younger and have not yet developed the sensitivity to find one's soulmate, but it would appear that you are still receptive when they find you, for which I am glad." Thor explains.

There is a short silence as everyone at the table takes that information in. Then Thor excuses himself to walk down to the corner restaurant and replace the mug he broke the other day. Darcy is too floored to tell him he's just taking one of their limited mugs, but figures at least he wants to do something nice. To Jane she comments that this soulmark seems to have done a number on the guy and Jane quickly disabused her of that notion and gives her the brief explanation of Thor's father dying and being unable to return home.

Eric gets up from the table and comments on what a shame that is and Darcy is briefly amused at how quickly they've seemed to accept Thor's space prince story. Not that she doesn't really believe him considering they found him in a rainbow tornado in the middle of the desert. She just has more pressing matters to attend to.

"How did this happen?"

Eric brings back the pot of coffee and they all refill their cups, giving Jane enough time to organize her thoughts.

"Like I said, we were talking after he brought Eric home from the bar and after a few hours he took my hand and it... just happened. I don't know. It was so quick, but once it happened I just knew. I _knew_ what had happened."

Jane says it all in that rushed way Jane has when she's got a lot of information in her head and no real way to translate it into words. Darcy is becoming better at teasing out the explanations she needs, but she's no expert. Still, she asks Jane every question she can think and Jane answers them like it's a word association test. She says things like "amazing" and "the world is in focus" and "colors are brighter" and even mentions that the food tastes better. She seems happy and content. Darcy is a little freaked out, but incredibly fascinated. She'd never admit it, but she had a soft spot for romance novels and Jane's current life was better than any she had ever read.

Thor comes back quickly and the foursome move off from breakfast to discuss what to do about Jane's confiscated work and things that aren't soulmates. They're standing in the middle of the room when Jane freezes and says "Oh my god."

Everything goes completely sideways from there and Darcy finds herself evacuating the town and handing off pet shop animals to anyone who drives by as a giant mecha destroys everything. SHIELD is absolutely useless and unprepared, but Thor's friends from space are spot on.

Thor actually dies, she's sure she saw his neck snap, but just as suddenly there's thunder and lightening and he's back up and armor is magicing itself around his body and Darcy understands why the ancient vikings worshipped these people as gods.

When the dust settles Thor is pissed and is about to Rainbow Bridge himself back home to "have words with his brother". Darcy catches the quiet moment between Jane and Thor as they say goodbye. She knows she shouldn't intrude, but she can't help it. They link hands and Darcy can finally see the pale lines of their soulmark on his skin and he promises her that he will return.

And then he and Sif and the Warriors Three are gone.

SHIELD is suddenly far more accommodating to Jane and her work seeing as Thor pledged his allegiance to this realm with the understanding that Jane would get her equipment back and what she needed to move forward with her work.

When the sun sets on the following day and Thor still hasn't returned, the three gather on the rooftop to drink and watch the sunset. Darcy plies Jane with platitudes that Thor will be back, but she only hums in acknowledgement her mind a million miles away. Later on, when it's too cold to sit outside anymore and Eric has passed out in the RV, Jane shows Darcy her soulmark.

Thick jagged lines travel from her left hand up her arm and spread out over the bicep before spreading to her back and continuing down wrapping around her side with fingers that wrapped around her middle, down her leg and around her foot. Some areas were thicker than others, while some seemed to bloom as it spread across her skin, larger across the front of her thigh before hiding away around her calf. It was pale white against pale skin and when caught just right in the light, it shimmered.

"It looks like a tree," Darcy said as she stepped back to take in the whole thing. "Like the world tree, maybe?"

Jane ran her hand down her side, standing in front of the full length mirror as she contemplated the pattern. She shook her head after a moment. "Lichtenberg figures," she said catching Darcy's eye in the mirror.

"It looks like I've been struck by lightning."

* * *

Thor doesn't come back.

Jane spends the next year almost frantically researching and testing new equipment based on the Einstein-Rosen Theory. She is like a woman possessed and Darcy is along for the ride. Eric takes a job with SHIELD that he's not allowed to talk about and SHIELD pressures Jane into finding a way to recontact Asgard and Thor. It's long nights studying distant stars in barren lands. Through it all Jane's faith never falters. Thor is out there and she is convinced he needs her to find him.

Late one night, when they're actually sleeping no less, Jane gets a call from SHIELD that a research facility in Tromsø had stumbled upon promising astrological phenomenon. They're given barely enough time to pack by the agents who had come to collect them before they're swept off in a private plane to the remote research location. Only once there they realize that nobody has any idea what they're talking about and no one is volunteering any information.

Darcy, frustrated that SHIELD is playing games once again, hacks into their database to find a live feed of Thor fighting what appears to be aliens in New York. They watch in horrified silence as these aliens thoroughly destroy one of America's most influential cities like a child at play. It seems hopeless and impossible even with all of Thor's strength they realize there are only a handful of people helping stem the tide against invasion. Darcy immediately recognizes Iron Man, but is surprised to find someone wearing a Captain America uniform and kicking so much ass it could be no one but him. There's a green monster almost gleefully destroying anything not human and Darcy hisses _I knew those rumors around Culver were true!_ The feed shows two others who don't look to be anything special at first glance except the fact that they're holding their own. The guy with the bow never misses and the woman is deadly whenever one of the aliens gets too close.

Darcy and Jane are already planning their return trip, only this time SHIELD won't help them so it takes them almost twice as long to get back to New York. Once there they make contact with Eric, who was at the center of the whole mess, he informs Jane that Thor has already gone back to Asgard.

Darcy feels helpless at Jane's heartbreak.

During their debriefing where Jane demands to know why she wasn't contacted about something that was an actual portal and was instead shipped off to the frozen hellscape. The person debriefing them isn't their usual SHIELD contact. Coulson is apparently incapacitated and their new liaison is a guy named Sitwell.

"That's my research," Jane says in clipped tones, staring the agent down. "What gives you the right?"

Sitwell is completely unfazed and Darcy wonders if there is a specific breed of people SHIELD looks to recruit or if this unflappability is taught during training.

"You work for SHIELD now, Ms. Foster," he says in a mild tone that gives nothing away. "Your research is our information with which we share with whom we want. Tony Stark has worked in the past as a SHIELD contractor. Given the situation and timeframe we were working in, we needed not only Tony's skills in science and technology, but also his skill as Iron Man."

It is explained to them that it was never intended to keep them in the dark, but everything needed to happen quickly and their safety was top priority. Once Loki had Eric, SHIELD couldn't risk him getting his hands on Jane too. He also mentions that her and her safety are one of the first things Thor asked about when he made contact.

Jane is less than placated and later tells Darcy that she's given up on Thor.

Even though the Bridge Theory is set to the wayside, worked on as more of a hobby than an actual job, Darcy sticks around. She hasn't given up on Thor and when she sees Jane absentmindedly running her fingers over her soulmark, she knows she hasn't either. Thor is a god from another planet. Surely time meant something different there than it did here. It wasn't exactly a soothing thought but it was better than believing Jane had been dumped. It also sounded like Thor hadn't finished sorting out his family troubles either since Loki turned out to be the one leading the army into New York.

* * *

A year passes and out of the blue they get a call from Eric, who had moved to London some months prior without a word. He convinces Jane to come to London and help him research spatial anomalies he's discovered. Darcy finds herself thrilled to be getting back into the thick of investigating anomalies and practically drags Jane across the pond. Some part of her just knows this is connected to Thor.

They're in London for a few weeks with absolutely no contact from Eric. He's left them his apartment and most of his equipment lying around, but no sign of the doctor. Jane spends most of her time at her mother's flat being mopey and wearing pajamas all day so Darcy takes it upon herself to head to the university and find herself an intern. She figures if Jane won't continue her research, Darcy will do it for her.

Ian Boothby is the only person to apply. He's tall and gangly with a bit of an awkwardness about him that has Darcy immediately smitten. He's also a Jane Foster fanboy with a résumé that makes him actually qualified for the unpaid position, emphasis on the unpaid part.

Later she's showing Ian around Eric's apartment and describing some of the equipment and making up job duties to keep him busy. Ian picks up what she thinks is a spectrometer and turns it on before Darcy can tell him not touch anything because lord if she knows how any of it actually works. However the spectrometer lights up like Christmas and stays that way. Upon closer inspection, read: hitting it several times, Darcy realizes that the readings are similar to what they were getting back in New Mexico just before Thor showed up and the leftover readings out of New York.

She and Ian load up her little hatchback rental and head over to the "lab" at Jane's mom's house only to find she isn't home. She finds out that Jane is on a blind lunch date and even though the idea makes Darcy's stomach twist uncomfortably she's more than happy to play the supportive friend, even going as far as giving the bland looking bloke the thumbs up.

Darcy waits patiently in the car with Ian after Jane kicks her out of the restaurant, munching on her stolen bread. Jane comes out no more than 10 minutes later looking annoyed, but there's a gleam in her eye that Darcy hasn't seen in a long time. With Ian giving directions to the hotspot from the radar, Darcy hauls ass across town to what appears to be an abandoned shipping factory filled with delinquent kids and floating trucks.

They are there 20 minutes when Jane wanders off and disappears.

Panic sets in almost immediately because Darcy has no idea about these space-time continuum spots and sometimes stuff just doesn't come back. Like rats fleeing a sinking ship, the kids take off and after hours pass with no sign of Jane, Darcy is forced to the cops. So it only makes sense that the minute the authorities show up and want to start handcuffing people, Jane returns like nothing happened.

Darcy is more than a little freaked out that Jane can't account for the last five hours. She wants to press the issue, but suddenly the skies open up around them but not _on_ them and lightning flashes and thunder claps loudly and on the other side of the courtyard there he is, in all his otherworldly, princely glory.

Something Darcy's heart is inordinately pleased to see him again even if she is getting rained on now that Jane has moved. The sound of Jane slapping Thor is also pleasing. She had to agree he deserved that. You don't just mark someone as soulmate and then never see them again.

While they have their reunion, Darcy tries to undo the damage with the police, but they're locking Ian up for trespassing and ignoring anything she tries to say. Finally she gets Jane to set them right and makes small talk with Thor who seems happy to see her, but won't take his eyes off Jane like he's afraid she'll disappear any minute.

What Jane does do, however, is almost 100 times worse as a disquieting red energy explodes from her body. Thor is across the courtyard in two strides, scooping Jane up gently and calling out for Heimdal. At the last possible second Darcy grabs Thor's arm and then she's off to another world.

* * *

Asgard is ridiculous. Just beyond anything Darcy could imagine and she is unable to put into words the sheer beauty of the palace and its _guards._ Even though Jane has regained her strength from her disturbing show of power back on Earth, Thor quickly takes her to the palace healers for treatment.

As the healers put Jane into something they call a Soulforge, _no, it's a quantum field generator, Jane insists_ , and Darcy notices the fond way Thor watches Jane argue with the healers. Darcy explains to Thor what they were doing when Jane disappeared and how long she was actually gone. It's at this time that some old guy with an eyepatch shows up referring to them as goats and kicking them, not just out of the palace, but off the freaking planet entirely.

Jane is rightly offended and Darcy settles in for one of her epic verbal smack downs when the old guy cuts her off with his whole King of the Nine Realms deal. And that's truly impressive and worrying as he clearly does have the power to kick them off the planet, she finds Jane more flustered that Thor has talked about her to his dad. The scenario is odd right up until Odin orders guards to remove them. While one guard manhandles her from behind, she and Thor both yell at the other two reaching for Jane too late and that unsettling burst of red energy knocks them back again.

Odin takes it like a champ and quickly sweeps Jane with a magic hand to reveal something glowing just beneath the skin. From here they go into the palace archives and it's story time with dad as Odin explains the war his father fought against the Dark Elves for the Aether which it now appears Jane is incubating in her body. The diagnosis is grim and Odin is entirely unhelpful with how to get it out of her. He does insist that Dark Elves are dead, so there's that at least.

* * *

Odin decides Jane is too volatile to leave now that he knows she's carrying the Aether. He does try to kick Darcy out, but she's insistent she's not leaving without Jane and when Thor backs her up Odin decides she's not worth arguing over.

Thor gives them rooms and sweet Asgard clothes and food. When things start to get a little awkward with the way Thor is looking at Jane Darcy decides to go explore this new world and Thor insists she's perfectly safe to do so. She figured the two lovebirds needed some time to catch up with their soulmarks and she didn't need to be around for that, so she struck off to see what trouble she could get into by herself.

The answer is a lot, apparently.

The palace grounds are beautiful beyond imagination and Darcy finds herself flitting in and out of open air verandas filled with all sorts of interesting items for most of the day. Finally she finds herself back inside one of the buildings proper. It's far more businesslike than the one they're staying in, but Darcy wasn't going to let that stifle her curiosity and she managed to wander mostly unnoticed.

When she finds a set of stairs leading down she takes them, wondering if they lead to some type of dungeon. If medieval history had taught her anything it was that something interesting was always going on in the dungeon.

The dungeon, it turns out, is actually the palace prison. The guards stationed at the stairs only eye her warily as she makes her way into the room. She's struck at first by the sheer majesty of the room. The prison is imbued with magic and glows with a warm golden light. None of the cells looked dingy or uncomfortable, though some looked a little too crowded for comfort. She suddenly had a million questions she wanted to ask about the prison system here on Asgard.

"My, my. Now what do we have here?" a soft, sibilant voice all but hissed from behind her.

Darcy spun around expecting another of the strange humanoids she'd seen in the other cages and was struck by the beauty of the man in front of her. He was tall and thin, pale with dark hair and greens eyes glowing with mischief. He gave her a small, teasing smile. It was only when Darcy stepped toward the glass that the guards shifted noticeably, tensing into a ready position.

His grins spread into a feral smile of fake geniality. "And who might you be, Midgardian?"

Darcy took in the measure of the man before her. The way he held himself above all others even locked up. The large, prominent cell he had to himself and the casual, yet regal clothes he wore.

"Darcy Lewis," she answered with her own smile of interest.

"Ah, so not Jane Foster then. Pity. And here I thought he'd found his soulmate. You do, however, match Thor's love of buxom wenches." He said with a slight sneer.

Darcy raised a brow, not sure which part to be offended at more. She decided to defend Jane. "Sorry to disappoint," she said dryly and a hint of anger. "but there's nothing wrong with Jane and Thor."

"Really?" He said in a way that made her feel as if she shouldn't have said that and her smile faltered.

"You must be Loki, Thor's brother."

His smile sharpened unpleasantly, "My reputation precedes me," he says at length. "So, you've come down to the dungeons to ensure the monster is locked up."

Darcy hums in agreement, moving closer to the the magic wall separating them. He watched her movements closely from beneath dark lashes and when the guards shifted again, his eyes dart to track their movement too.

"Dungeon is a bit of a stretch," she said, sweeping a hand to encompass the gilded room. "I've stayed in motels more sketch than this. Really I hoping for more dark, dank and despair or your maybe mouth sewn shut."

"Sorry to disappoint," he threw the words back at her through bared teeth.

After a beat he relaxed, placing his hands behind his back and eyeing her with casual interest. "So, Darcy Lewis of Midgard, what could possibly bring you all the way to this realm? What trouble has Thor gotten into now?"

Her uncomfortable feeling intensifies and somehow she doesn't feel that the glowing wall between them is enough. "Nothing. We're just here for a visit."

His smile is wide and his eyes flash as if he can sense her lie. "A visit? Well then Odin really has lost his edge. Letting Thor's pet onto the sacred grounds of Asgard."

"Thor's pet -" Darcy spat indignantly before Loki cut her off.

"Yes, Thor's little pet," he snapped abruptly and Darcy jerked away from his cell. He paused a moment and almost seemed surprised by his own outburst. Darcy was not impressed and made sure her scowl let him know she was not having any of it.

Loki composed himself and then said that same eerily calm voice from before. "Or is it Ms. Foster has gotten into something she's is unable to handle?"

Darcy felt her skin crawl with the comment. How could he know about the Aether? Did the guards stand around gossiping during their downtime? This time she kept her mouth shut, but Loki looked at her smugly as if her silence was the only answer he needed.

The guards had come up behind her at Loki's outburst and quietly said something to the effect of Thor requesting her presence for dinner, but Darcy couldn't take her eyes off the knowing smile of the man in front of her. Even after she allowed the guards to lead her away she could feel those gleaming green eyes on her.

* * *

Darcy was pissed.

Like seriously pissed in a way she could not remember being since Tromsø. How dare that asshole speak to her that way! And talk about Jane like that!

She tried to not let him get under her skin. She felt that was probably what he wanted more than anything, but the longer Darcy thought about it the angrier she got. She sulked through dinner and tossed and turned all night. The image of that knowing smile burned into her brain.

She didn't mention her encounter with Loki to Jane or Thor at dinner or the next day. It didn't really seem like the right time to bring it up with tension running high with no answers to the Aether inside of Jane. Thor was convinced Odin was wrong about the Dark Elves and angry with his passive attitude towards Jane.

Eventually Thor leads Jane off and Darcy waves away her whispered apologies. At some point she'd already made the decision to go back to Loki's cell and give him a piece of her mind. The guards give her another wary look as she strode confidently up to Loki.

She found him leaned comfortably in a chair reading a book. His eyes caught hers as she descended the last stairs and he gave a small, amused smile as she made her way to him, as if he'd been waiting for her to return.

"Ms. Lewis, to what do I owe this pleasure?"

He might be prettier than Darcy remembered with his high cheekbones, sly smile, and eyes dancing with secrets. Darcy finds it immediately irritating. It really wasn't fair. Hot guys were either interested in her friends or insane.

"You know, it's funny," Darcy started in a tone that clearly stated she did not find what she was about to say funny at all. "Daddy Dearest called us goats when we first got here and then you call Jane Thor's pet. Isn't that interesting?"

Loki's eyes flashed angrily. "He's not my father."

"Yeah, Thor mentioned something about that," she said, crossing her arms over her chest. "That's the funny part considering you're so much alike. It looks like the apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

His face contorts into rage and Darcy braces for something nasty to come out of his mouth, but at the last second he only grins, hands raised as if to say _what can you do_. Darcy finds she feels disappointed. She's angry and she thinks a caged Loki is an easy target.

She would be wrong, but she doesn't know that yet.

"Well, isn't that clever," he said with another of those knowing smirks. "Is there something you wanted? Or did Thor just send you down here as a specific form of torture?"

Darcy eyes him for a long moment and he waits patiently as she gathers her thoughts. She can feel his eyes on her like an indecent caress, looking her over from top to bottom. She can't tell if he likes what he sees or not as the smirk never leaves his face.

"Why did you do it?"

The question is pointless as the answer is obviously that he's insane, but she had a desperate need to question him. To know what his motives were. Why attack Earth in the first place? What the fuck had they ever done to him?

His smile broadens indulgently, "Of course," he said and paced a few steps away before turning back to her. "I only thought to liberate you from yourselves. I was to be your King and rule you thusly."

There's something in the way he says it that sends a shiver down Darcy's back. Almost like the words were a little too personal; too pointed directly at her. It also sounded rehearsed.

"You must be as shitty at research as you are at invasion," Darcy said with a derisive snort. Her pouty lips twist into a frown as she steps right up to the glowing glass barrier. "The Earth, particularly America - you know, the county that hosts two of the cities you tried to flatten? - did away with the ruling class awhile ago. You're a couple hundred years too late."

"All the more reason your kind should be desperate to kneel before me," he captured her gaze in his own, his words a quiet sneer between them. Darcy felt something clench low in her belly at their gentle hiss. "One planet so foolishly divided. Slaughtering yourselves over petty slights and invisible borders. Utterly helpless against the real threat from outside. I sought to unite you under me," he ran a finger down the glass tracing the curve of her neck and shoulder and Darcy felt her skin prickle in response. "I would protect you like Thor has failed to."

Darcy licked her lips, her breathing a little heavier than before. She narrowed her eyes at his narcissistic view and practised words. "Well," she said at last, "I'm glad we were able to provide you with such a thorough display to why your services are not needed."

That cutting smile was back, but there was no more humor in his words. His eyes were dark and again she was trapped in them like prey, unable to look away until he struck.

"There are far worse things out there than me, Ms. Lewis, as I'm sure the young Doctor Foster will realize soon enough."

Gooseflesh rippled across her skin and her throat went dry. She was about to ask what he meant by that when the guards came up to escort her out again. She watched him watch her from over her shoulder. He looked after her long after she was gone wondering at the insipid humans Thor was so fond of before picking up his book and settling in to read before he was again interrupted by his mother and the march of new prisoners.

* * *

Darcy needed to find Jane. She was worried, not that she hadn't been before, but as Loki's cryptic words sank in she had the gut twisting feeling that Jane was in mortal danger. Not necessarily from Loki, but something was after her friend or after whatever it was she was carrying inside of her. There was this niggling voice in the back of her head that said Loki knew more about the Aether and possibly what was after it. She held onto that intuition for later questioning.

She found Thor and Jane together on balcony overlooking the quiet river. It was romantic and Darcy was there to ruin it. It was only after Jane repeatedly assured her nothing else had happened and she felt fine that Darcy settled down and strategically avoided Thor's side eye and impossible to answer questions. She couldn't quite figure out how to say, _yes everything's fine! Your brother is a super creep though and made me afraid something had happened to Jane._ Thor hadn't really mentioned what had happened between he and Loki and Darcy figured that could be a topic for another time with the God of Mischief.

She should've been concerned that she was already making plans to see him again, but the thought of not doing so didn't even occur to her.

It wasn't long after this their quiet reverie was shattered when an alarm sounded off at the prison. Thor took off into the sky with a leap and Darcy and Jane were huddled away with Queen Frigga. What followed was terrifying and confusing as the castle itself was invaded and much like Loki had predicted, something had come for Jane.

Darcy had never seen anyone die before, except maybe Thor, but since he was still alive that didn't exactly count. Frigga did not come back to life with a thunderbolt of lightning. She lay still and quiet in Odin's arms, his grief palatable.

Darcy had only known the Queen for hours, but she had trusted her with her life. She may've been the most badass person she'd ever met. Frigga had plucked a sword off a guard without a backwards glance and when she told them to listen to her with no questions asked neither hesitated. That was why it had been such a shock, after watching the Queen back Malekith so easily into a corner, to then so suddenly watch her be overcome and die. It was an unjust end and everything hurt because of it.

Late that evening after the sunset, the world united in their grief over the loss of their Queen and Darcy watched solemn as she rose into the stars in what had to be the most beautiful funeral she had ever seen. Later still, Darcy found herself unable to say anything to Thor or Jane. She didn't know how to console Jane and Jane didn't know how to console Thor and eventually Darcy again found her feet moving in the direction of the prisons.

It was unconscious drifting at first, but once she recognized the path she moved with purpose. It was late, she was drained of everything she had and her eyes were red rimmed from crying, but she had to ask him what had happened down here and if he had known that thing was coming for Jane. If he knew what it was she had inside of her and what it was capable of and what Malekith was going to do with it. She felt like Loki had all the answers and she needed them.

She caught his eye briefly when she reached the bottom of the stairs as he turned to address the guard stood in front of his prison. She was still too far to hear what was said, but it was only a minute, a few short words and a quick nod of Loki's head to dismiss the guard before he stood, his body tense, his eyes on her for a moment that stretched forever before he released a burst of destructive power that smashed everything against the glowing glass of his cell. Darcy's steps faltered at this display and he met her eyes again before waving his hand, turning the translucent walls opaque.

With dawning horror she realized Loki had just been told of his mother's death. Just like that. A simple low level prison guard to deliver the news as bluntly and quickly as possible. No Odin. Not even Thor to break it to the man he claimed as a brother. Loki hadn't even had the chance to say goodbye. The funeral was over by the time they had deigned to tell him.

Something twisted sharp and painful within her as she turned on heel to march back up the stairs, her eyes filled with tears anew.

* * *

Odin locks them up. He says it's for Jane's protection, but he seems to be on a warpath and personally pissed at Jane for bringing this to his door. Honestly she understands why he's upset, but taking it out on Jane isn't going to change anything as she indignantly tells him as the guards herd them away. Not even Thor is allowed into their gilded cage and Darcy begins to think that the charm has worn off of Asgard and if she ever had to come back to this place it'll be too soon.

Jane and Darcy make use of their time to catch up. They've been here three days and hadn't had a chance to really talk since arriving. Jane confesses her fear of what she thinks the Aether is capable of and Darcy feels more lost than ever on how to help her. If only she had been able to get to Loki, something told her he would have answers. Eventually Darcy changes the subject to pry the details of Jane's blooming romance with Thor if only to take their minds off of what is most likely going on outside their room and the guards stationed at their door.

Reluctantly Darcy tells Jane about her visits with Loki. Her boss is understandably upset with her and lectures her on the dangers as if she hadn't also seen the footage from SHEILD. But Darcy doesn't know how she feels about him exactly anymore after seeing such a raw display of grief and pain last night. Something in her that she could not clearly explain ached for him. Sure he brought all his punishments upon himself, but no one should have to go through something like this alone.

She didn't tell any of that to Jane. She managed to change the subject with her suspicion that Loki knew more about the Aether and what Malekith wanted with it. They speculated on that long into the night not knowing what the next day would bring.

There was no way they could've known that Thor was plotting treason to break them out and off of Asgard.

There was no way either would've guessed Thor would go to Loki for help.

At the dawn of the next day, after the morning meal had been served and they have resigned themselves to another day poking around the books Asgards has to offer in English, the door to their room bursts open and guards go spilling to the floor in the wake of Lady Sif.

"Wicked," is Darcy's delighted response to this display in female authority.

Sif only offers a curt nod and command for them to follow. Halfway down the hall to whatever destination Sif is taking them they cross paths with Fandral who snags Darcy's wrist as she passes.

"My Lady," he says in a way that's almost creepy, but mostly charming in an over the top kind of way, "you would do me a great pleasure if you would come with me."

Darcy is hesitant to split from Jane, even for Thor's cute Robin Hood friend, but he assures her they will all be meeting up again shortly and she will be perfectly safe with him in the meantime. It sounds like a really bad idea, but Sif barely paused her stride for the interruption and Jane is hurrying after her, so she goes with Fandral.

They go down and out into the sunlight and into a courtyard where Fandral knocks out a couple rookie guards left behind to watch those weird hovercrafts. He steals a ride and they're off, flying over Asgards' ocean just beneath the bridge and out of sight of other guards to meet up with Thor.

Eventually an alien craft - "alien" because she's literally on an alien planet, ergo everything was alien, but this one was extra alien - appears and suddenly someone is falling out of it. Fandral gives a half laugh of surprise and maneuvers their craft to catch whoever had been thrown out.

It feels like her eyebrows are going to fly right off her face when Loki sits up with a fuss. Fandral is laughing heartily and a minute later Thor drops down with Jane in his arms. Loki and Thor trade quips, but they're still being chased so Fandral gives a grand goodbye, making sure to brush his lips across Darcy's knuckles before jumping off to slow down the pursuit. The entire time she can feel Loki watching her, but she's sure that distant feel of unhappiness that sweeps over her at Fandral's display is her imagination.

Jane is looking woozy and Darcy kneels by her side as Thor turns over the ship to Loki who worrying steers them straight into a cliffside.

* * *

They crash land in what in Darcy is told is Svartalfheim, which looks exactly like the setting of every post-apocalyptic YA novel she's ever read. There is nothing but rolling hills of gritty sand and the ruins of what she could tell where once great cities. The sky is an upsetting yellow color and covered in angry black clouds that move faster than the wind whipping across her face making everything around her feel surreal. It's like something out of a nightmare.

Darcy huddles close to Jane as she rests on the floor of their ship pulling the other girl's head in her lap. She is incredibly uncomfortable by the way Loki is looking is looking at Jane. Like he can see right through her as he speaks about the Aether. Loki's comments turn from the Aether and Darcy is surprised by Loki's vehemence about that Thor will suffer with Jane's death. She knows he only means to goad him. To imply that it would be better for her to die now than later, that her life's little more than a heartbeat compared to their own. She can feel Loki's eyes on her like a physical caress as he speaks and it makes her heart beat faster; makes her ache a little as she remembered the hurt Jane felt when she was alone. Loki threw that helplessness so casually in Thor's face, but she couldn't help but feel that those words were for her alone.

She's not even sure they realize she's still there as the argument escalates and turns from Jane to their mother and Thor looks as if he really wants to hurt Loki as he slams him against the ship. Darcy holds her breath at the exchange and pretends she doesn't see the tears standing Loki's eyes or feel that sharp twist in her belly the same as the night he was delivered the news of his mother's death.

It was the type of moment that made a monster a man.

The rest of the trip across the wasteland is done in tense silence and Darcy does her best to ignore Loki though he watches her with open interest. They know the moment Malekith's ship descends from the sky as Jane wakes from her stupor. Darcy is thoroughly freaked out by her friend's suddenly black eyes and breathy name of the Dark Elf on her lips.

She watched with no small amount of anxiety as Thor released Loki from his cuffs. No sooner than they were off that Loki pulled a knife and with a scream of horror she watched as he stabbed Thor before throwing him down the embankment and chopping his hand off as he tried to call for Mjölnir. Darcy can only stand by in horror as Malekith sucks the Aether from Jane, not knowing if friend will live through this, what will happen Thor, or how much pain she can cause Loki before she kills him for his betrayal.

So it's an absolute surprise to her when Thor calls for Loki and reveals the whole thing to be a trick planned by the brothers. Loki throws himself on Jane and Jane grabs for her as Thor attempts to destroy the Aether with his lightening.

Everything goes titsup from there and Darcy almost dies exactly three times and manages to save Loki's life once.

It's more of a matter of happenstance as she tried to stay out of the way that she was in the right place at all when Loki stabbed the Kursed and then stood there as dumbly as if asking for the beast to stab him right back. Which is exactly what he would've done if Darcy hadn't grabbed his arm and yanked him back. She didn't really think about it though because the next moment the Kursed was detonating and imploding in on himself.

When Loki glared at her through narrowed eyes she dropped his arm and backed up a few paces. He was watching her even as he and Thor reconvened to watch the Dark Elves retreat with the Aether and their evil plots. Darcy flexed her fingers where they still tingled from their brief contact listening to Jane explain Malekith's plan for the destruction of the universe. There was a phantom of his arm his arm flexing beneath her hand and she ran her thumb across her palm to calm it.

Eventually they made their way out of the dust storm that had picked up from nowhere and found a cave where Jane's phone suddenly started ringing with the song she had programed into it days ago. There was very awkward one sided conversation from Jane's date as they discovered their cave was the other end of that portal in shipping yard and were able to find their way back through to London. Darcy doesn't miss the mocking smile Loki throws at Thor when it becomes clear she was moving on. To be honest, she's impressed at the way he ignores him.

Darcy wanted to comment on the irony of the situation but she wasn't going to look a gift horse in the house as the four of them piled into Darcy's now vandalized rental. Jane drove with Thor in the passenger seat while Darcy and Loki squeezed uncomfortably into the backseat causing Darcy to grin with amusement as he folded in next to her.

When they arrived back at Eric's flat, Darcy was surprised to find the doctor home and with Ian no less. Even though he's not wearing pants, Ian says he thinks better without them, she is beyond happy to see him since she'd spent the last couple weeks worried about him. He gives her and Jane big, awkward hugs that last a little too long for someone with no pants on before he sees Thor and behind him Loki.

As the light in his eyes die at the sight of the Trickster God and they all simultaneously remember what Loki had done to Eric and made him do in New York and Darcy feels that original anger sweep back over her so fast her head spins.

"Doctor Selvig, what a pleasure to see you again," Loki says in that low, mocking tone that sends a confusing chill down her spine.

"Loki," Thor growls in warning and Loki puts his hands up in surrender.

"No, no. Don't get me wrong. I am so glad to see the good doctor continuing his work. He was one of my better scientists."

Darcy is literally going to end him, she swears it, but Thor is faster and he snatches a laughing Loki up and hauls him out of the apartment. There is a tense silence that follows that before Jane breaks it.

"Eric I'm so sorry," she starts. "I didn't mean to bring Loki back. Everything just went wrong and there isn't anyway to take him back to Asgard right now, but we really need your help."

She goes on to explain the Convergence and the Dark Elves' plan and Darcy is impressed when Eric snaps out of his stupor and begins by helping to plot the exact location of the Elves attack. While Eric puts together his work for Jane, the two women get themselves cleaned up and not that Darcy didn't appreciate what the fine silk robes of Asgard did for her cleavage, she found it easier to fight the destruction of the universe in a sports bra and leggins.

Darcy also caught up with Ian who told her that after she disappeared he was arrested, but they didn't really have anything to hold him on and he was released a few hours later. While he was in jail he remembered Eric's name and that Darcy had been looking for him and found he was also locked up so Ian set about getting him out of jail. He figured the doctor would know what had happened to them and how to get them back. That wasn't exactly the case, but it had worked out in their favor none the less.

By the time they were ready to go Thor and Loki were back. Darcy would've given anything to be another fly on the wall for their conversation, but Thor was focused and Loki, at least, seemed a bit more subdued. Eric put on his pants and they all headed out for Greenwich.

* * *

They get there just ahead of the Dark Elves.

The plan is simple enough. Thor and Loki were to provide enough of a distraction so Darcy and Ian could hammer in Eric's spiky things around the site so Jane and Eric can zap the bad guys away. They just needed to keep him busy until the Convergence passed.

The fighting is insane from the word go. Malekith and Thor are having a knockdown, no holds bar fight, the government have sent fighter jets, there are Dark Elf soldiers everywhere and everything is popping in and out of portals that are coming up everywhere without any kind of order. It's complete chaos and at one point Darcy finds herself sucked away from Ian into a portal and back on Svartalfheim with a handful of pissed off Elves.

She takes off running, her only hope that another portal opens up and she runs through it before they kill her. And she's kind of pissed too because she just knew she was going to die on this planet. So, she's hauling ass trying to remember where that cave with the portal was while avoiding get killed when a portal opens above her and out falls Loki and part of a car.

She doesn't really have a whole lot of time to think about it, but Loki is certainly the lesser of two evils at this point and also she'd watched him dispatch dozen of these creepers with ease so she runs straight for him. Her stomach flutters when he spots her and he reaches a hand toward her when she gets close enough, grabbing her elbow and swinging her behind him. He's somehow acquired a set of daggers and uses them to the utmost efficiency to dispatch the Elves chasing her.

He turned to her as the last Elf dropped and Darcy was struck once again by how beautiful he looked even in this desert moonlight. Wild and handsome and seemingly in his element with all the chaos surrounding them. Her heartbeat picks up and she's not sure if it's fear or something else that causes the reaction. Either way she can trace it to the look in his eye and the way it held her rooted to the spot.

"You saved my life," she whispered in awe because really no one had ever done that before and now that she had a moment to think about it she wouldn't have expected him to either.

"For now," he smirked something awful, but she doesn't think it's having the intended effect anymore. Her cheeks heated and there was warmth pooling low in her belly at the sound of his low voice. "The Convergence is almost upon us. Let's find that portal, shall we?"

Darcy ran to catch up with his long strides. "You knew this was going to happen. How could you know?"

"The Convergence is common knowledge to anyone who's taken a rudimentary study of the Realms."

"That's not what I meant. I'm talking about the Aether. Not even your dad, Odin knew it still existed, but you didn't seem surprised. So how did you know?"

Loki watched her out of the corner of his eye. "Like I said, Ms. Lewis, there are worse things out there."

Darcy frowned, reaching for his arm and pulling him to a stop. "This isn't over, is it? Even if we win this fight - you said there are worse things out there and I get the feeling you weren't talking about the Dark Elves." She paused for a beat, watching those narrowed green eyes take her in shrewdly. "Why did you save me?"

She searched his face, but could find nothing there. She didn't know him well enough to see how he hid his lies. She wasn't sure there was anyone alive could spot a lie he didn't want them to see. All she knew at that moment was her heart wouldn't stop trying to escape her chest and her hand wrapped around his arm felt so weirdly right it was hard to concentrate on anything else. He didn't have to save her life, but he chose to. He chose now to lead her off this planet and back home when he was free and could escape the prison Thor had promised him. And she didn't think he was doing it for her. Loki clearly had his own reasons.

She had unconsciously drifted closer to him and then she was pulling the front of his leather armor to her and rising on her toes to kiss him. Her arms wrapped around his neck and his around her waist and as their lips met and melded together something sparked and uncoiled deep within her. They gasped together, their lips pulling away just enough for the sudden intake of breath as heat burned and tingled under her skin.

She blinked large blue eyes up at him as she tried to make sense of what had just happened, but the only thing her brain could come up with was, _Oh no..._

Darcy was only somewhat comforted by the disconcerted look on Loki's face just before he dipped back down to take another pull from her lips as if he couldn't believe what had happened and wanted to make sure that what he thought had happened had actually happened. At least that's how she felt as she returned his kiss, desperate and messy.

This was the exact position Jane found them in when a portal opened up around them and transported them back to Greenwich and next to Jane. Darcy jumped away from Loki at the sound of Jane's incredulous voice, but her fingers were trembling and her mouth was hanging open. Loki looked just as stunned as she felt. There was a long moment where they couldn't tear their eyes from each other even though she knew she should look away because Jane and Eric were watching them now.

From somewhere in the distance Thor gave a warcry and it was enough for Darcy and Loki to finally take in their new surrounds. In the center of the courtyard right in front of the ship a dark red swirl from the Aether grew in a terrible wave of power that threatened to consume everything and in the center Thor fought Malekith.

Beside her she could see Loki's jaw tick and his fingers curl into a fist before he strode off into the Darkness to once again fight beside Thor. Darcy held her breath as the moments ticked by, her heart and mind confused and afraid.

Suddenly the fighting stops and the silence that follows is deafening. As the dust settles she can see Thor collapsed on the ground and Loki struggling to remain upright as he stumbles across the courtyard in her direction. It's only a moment after reaching her that the ship begins to groan and tip towards the ground and Thor isn't moving. Jane screams, clutching at Thor trying to drag him out of the path of the ship. Darcy can see the horror on Loki's face when he realizes that he won't make it back in time and Jane is just too small to drag the Thunder God to safety.

Darcy's heart broke as she watched Jane lay down across Thor's body as if to protect him.

Luckily Darcy didn't have to watch her best friend die as Eric hit a switch and sent the ship through a portal to fall in Svartalfheim to rot where it belongs.

It's only after she breathes a huge sigh of relief does she realize that at some point she'd grabbed onto Loki. Darcy feels a rush just under her skin as he looks down at her, hooded green eyes hiding his thoughts. Finally he twists his arm from her hand only to wrap it around her waist and pull her to him. Eric shoots her a concerned look, but says nothing. Darcy doesn't know what she'd tell him anyway. The relief that floods her veins as he presses against her body is stunning. All she can think of is Jane explaining that feeling of being near her soulmate and Darcy's amused skepticism and the fresh realization of how wrong she'd been.

There was this insatiable pull to be near him. To touch and be touched by him and from the tempered suspicion and something else she couldn't quite place in his eyes, he felt it too. The only thing Darcy didn't feel was the contentment Jane had gone about after she and Thor had become soulmates. There was just a sinking feeling like a stone settling in her stomach. How could someone like Loki be her soulmate? Did the universe not understand what a monster this man was? What did that say about her?

She had a lot of questions she was sure did not have easy answers. At any rate now was not the time as Thor slowly got up from the ground and as he and Jane made their way over to them Ian turned up just before the Feds. Darcy and Jane had learned from their previous mistakes and kept quiet with Jane shoving him a card with Sitwell's contact information on it.

"Call SHIELD," she said tiredly.

The suit looked at the card skeptically asking, "What's SHIELD?"

"You'll find out soon enough," Darcy responded before turning to walk away.

She was sure the suits were going to stop them, but Thor was easily recognizable and intimidating enough with Loki by his side to let them slip away for the time being. SHIELD would be hounding them soon enough, but for now Darcy was both too physically and emotionally tired to deal with the fallout of saving the world.

As they walked away Jane softly asked if Darcy was okay, wanting to know what had happened between her and Loki. Darcy couldn't bring herself to put it into words yet. Honestly, she was hoping she was wrong, but much as Jane had described a lifetime ago, she just knew. She shrugged Jane's concern off as best she could with a squeeze of her hand and a promise to talk later.

There was a moment when she stood with Ian and felt lost at the sweet way he looked at her. She distantly remembered being taken with him, but now that seemed like some hazy dream.

"Working with Doctor Foster certainly is exciting," he said placing his hand on her forearm to get her attention as she started to drift away.

She swallowed down the feeling of wanting to recoil from his touch with a shrug. A few feet away Loki's sharp gaze was on them and a feeling of unease swept over her and it was enough to make her angry. She didn't want to deal with his bullshit. She pulled away from Ian with the cover of brushing her hair out of her face.

"Never a dull moment when Thor is around," she said, eyes shooting daggers at Loki. He curled his lip at her, but finally turned away.

"What's with that guy?" Ian muttered with a frown as he watched their exchange. It occurred to Darcy then that he probably had no idea who Loki actually was. Most of what really happened in New York was classified information.

Darcy shook her head deciding not to answer the question because she didn't know what Loki's problem was. Or more accurately didn't want to think about what his problem was because his problem was now her problem and that idea didn't settle well with her. Ian took Selvig back to his apartment and the four of them headed back to Jane's mom's flat since it was empty, Jane having sent her mother on a mini vacation out of the city. The car ride was tense even as Thor spoke of the favor this battle would curry with their father. Darcy had her doubts, but she also had a million other things to worry about than whether or not Thor was going to get grounded for sneaking out of the house.

At the apartment Loki was intense and silent and the room was thick with tension. Thor regarded his brother warily. He seemed to know the tension was from Loki and Darcy, but had missed everything else between them. Her skin itched and burned beneath her clothes and she could no longer stand the awkward small talk so she retreated to the spare room set up for her.

She needed to see the mark for herself. Wanted to proved to herself that it was not there even though everything else told her otherwise. Her soul did not belong to Loki. She watched her face in the mirror for long enough that the shapes stopped making sense then she scrubbed her eyes, shook out her hair and she stripped herself out of her clothes.

It was there. The pale shimmers immediately caught her eye. They wrapped their way down her body coiling in a way that was soft and serpentine. It would be nearly unrecognizable to someone who didn't know what they were looking for. A stretch mark or an old scar until you noticed the way it curled and the ends faded into nothing or hid themselves in the bend of her knee or beneath her breasts. Hidden little paths across her skin.

Darcy stared at this visual manifestation tying her Loki and her throat clenched as she tried to understand what that meant. She didn't want this, but the thought of missing the intangible feel of him made something tighten inside her. Even with him in the next room was too far and she clenched her fists to stop the itching in her palms. She hoped he would leave back to Asgard without her ever having to face him again.

Behind her the bedroom door creaked open and there, as if summoned by her thoughts, was Loki. "Leave. I didn't invite you in here," she said, but there was no conviction in her words.

He ignored her as Darcy expected he would and she watched his mirrored image shut the door behind him and stalk towards her, the look in his eye predatory as he drank in her naked body.

" _Show me_ ," he commanded, his low voice a whisper against her skin as he ran a finger over one of the marks against her back and her whole body shuddered at the gentle contact.

Darcy sighed and rolled her eyes, but showed him anyway. Not because she felt compelled to, but because this felt like the natural conclusion. They watched her reflection in the mirror as she found a path and delicately traced it across her side and down her hip until it disappeared. Their eyes meet in the mirror and then his fingers followed before seeking out more hidden paths to follow across her skin.

Loki gave a mirthless laugh. "What cruel irony to find myself tied to a mere human."

Darcy snorted. The irony was not lost on her and she wasn't any more pleased than him, but his touch was a revelation. It ignites within her and heats her blood. He dipped his head to run his lips down the curve of her neck as his hands ghosted over her breast causing her to arch into the soft touch. She can feel his grin against her skin and even though the last thing she wanted to do was stop, she pulled away from him.

"You think I, _in any way_ , want to be tied to a psychopath? Trust me, I'm getting the raw deal here. Now, I showed you mine now show me yours," she said turning to him with her hands on her hips.

He gave her an insufferable smirk and raised his hands in an _as you wish_ gesture and then began pulling off the leather armor. Darcy stood before him and watched, unabashed by her own nakedness but feeling her cheeks flush as more of his skin was revealed. He was lithe, a collection of well honed muscle under smooth skin. Her hands were on him with barely a thought, a small frown on her face as she traced the matching marks on his body that crossed with old scars and he practically hissed at her touch.

It was intoxicating, the way he responded to her hands sliding against his flesh, the sight of _her_ mark on _him_. _Claiming_ him as hers. It rang true deep inside her. Something was building between them and her body trembled every time they touched. It was blinding how much her body wanted him. Their harsh breathing was the only sound in the quiet room and soon enough he gripped her chin turning her face up to him and silence even that sound with his lips.

Darcy ran her hands through his hair pressing herself as tightly against him as she could. His skin felt oddly cool on her overheated flesh and a chill ran down her spine. He backed her against the bed and Darcy broke the kiss long enough to crawl onto it and pull him to her. Her heart was thundering in her chest as he kissed and nipped at her neck. She couldn't tell if this was something she wanted or if she was being compelled by the soulbond they had created. Energy burned between them so intense she swore she could almost see it. Her body was already taut and expectant as Loki's long fingers twisted in her underwear, pushing it aside to slip them against her wet heat.

"You're wet," he said as casually discussing the weather and not the fact that her nerves were on fire. "You want me."

His voice was low and made her insides twist with how right he was. She couldn't possibly be any more turned on, but thought she could come from just the sound of his deep, smug voice. It grated on her nerves, but not enough to make him stop. Some deep-seated instinct she was only just discovering told her soul would burn without Loki to slake her thirst.

"I don't want _you_ ," she gasped as he curled two fingers inside her. His eyes narrowed dangerously and her hips bucked as he moved in her. "I just want to get rid of this feeling."

"You think you can reject me," he snarled. His teeth nipped painfully at her throat before his tongue swept over it long and slow. Darcy's eyes rolled into the back of her head, fingernails digging into his wrist as he pushed his palm against her.

"You should be grateful, Midgardian. Bow before me. Worship me." He punctuated each word by flexing his fingers against that spot inside that wound her tighter and tighter. "I am a God."

" _Oh god,_ " was Darcy's broken moan when she finally came undone at his words.

In hindsight she would probably reflect on her poor choice in words, but that was something for future Darcy to worry about. Current Darcy's only concern was Loki's tongue sliding against hers sucking away each of her little whimpers and the trembling in her thighs. She tugged at the strings to his pants, knowing she would never be complete until she had him inside her and he laughed, something that sounded almost honest and pure. It caught her by surprise and sent a flutter through her stomach.

He promptly ruined it by opening his mouth. "So eager aren't we?" He said in that infuriating, mocking tone.

Darcy was so done with him. "Shut up, Loki. I like it better when you don't talk." She was overwhelmed, overstimulated and still craving him in a way that gnawed at her soul.

"That's not true," he said with a triumphant smile. "But I do love the taste of your lies."

"Shut up," she mumbled again before he kissed her harsh and needy, filled with a want that echoed deep within her too.

It was unfair. What could she have possibly done to make the universe believe he was her soul's match. What dark, hidden part of her had called out to him. She hated him even as she wanted him. He touched her with a reverence that was at such odds with his cruel tone and it made Darcy's head spin. As they shed the last of their clothing she pulled him back down so he was covering her body. His skin was still so curiously cool under her fingers, the complete opposite of the way hers was heated. The weight of his body pressed against her's felt right and her stomach roiled at the thought of ever being with someone else like this again.

"You are mine," he said with a bitten off groan he guided his way into her body as if he had heard her very thoughts, claiming her body and soul.

Darcy felt full in a way she'd never been before. He was large, scretching her, but she knew it was more than just that. The way he cupped her jaw made her eyes open to find him watching her intently. Some gutteral sound was torn from him as he began to move within her and she felt consumed as the bond flared bright. Darcy could see it in his eyes the moment he felt it too.

Dracy rakes her nails down his back and tries to find purchase to meet his hips. His pace is unhurried, but his thrusts are sharp, eliciting a pleasured little noise from Darcy each time he moves. She finds his hands and threads their fingers together and he raises them above her head. Her heart constricts and pressure beings to coil in her stomach and legs. She bites bruises into his skin as she clenches down on Loki's cock as hard as she can and he moves harder in response, swearing in a language she doesn't understand.

Their hips stutter, out of sync for a moment and then Darcy comes suddenly, her entire body shaking from the force of it. Loki steals away her little gasp, kissing her desperately, moaning deep in his chest when her clenching around his cock caused him to follow her off that knife's edge.

He rolled off her with a groan and Darcy curled into his side, hiding her face beneath her hair. A deep-seated satisfaction hummed through her and she realized he was right. She was his, but:

"You're also mine," she whispers, uncurling just enough to peak up at him.

He brushes her hair away and looks at her for a long moment before he said, "yes," very softly and solemnly.

"I will bring you back to Asgard with me," Loki told her, smoothing a hand over her cheek and Darcy froze, sitting up a little more.

"I can't go back to Asgard," she said looking at him incredulously. "Not only for the fact that Odin literally kicked me off the planet more than once, but my life is here. I can't leave."

"Your life is meaningless here. I will be my Queen," Loki countered, dismissive, but there was a quiet anger beneath his words.

"Queen of what? Your prison cell? What does that even mean, Loki?"

"Asgard won't hold me forever," his eyes burned into hers and she was reminded of their first meetings in Asgard's dungeons and all the secrets he kept. "Odin is old and fallible."

"I want no part of any of your schemes." Darcy stated firmly. "You were locked up for a reason. I can't go back to Asgard and you can't stay here," the last part was said softly and her heart twisted at the truth in the words.

Loki sat up and pulled her to him, grabbing her chin to make her look at him. "I told you, you will not reject me." His voice was soft and so deadly she wondered what he was capable of in that moment. "I will have you or not at all."

Darcy frowned and pushed him away. "You expect me to just forget about the fact that you leveled two of my cities? That you killed hundreds of my people? How can I turn my back on them?"

There were tears in her eyes as her chest continued to ache. "Even if I want nothing more than to be with you, I can't."

Loki's face was frighteningly impassive, but there was a dangerous glint behind eyes glassy with unshed tears. "You think me a monster then? Completely irredeemable and unworthy of your love?"

Darcy felt tears on her cheeks at his words and shook her head. Even if she wanted them to be true more than anything she knew they were not. She slid her hands from his chest, over his neck and across the high cheekbones of his face.

"Loki, nobody is beyond redemption, but it's something that must be worked for and you haven't even started."

There must've something in her eyes. Some truth that he found there because he shuddered once before clutching her to his chest and kissing her like a man dying. She didn't know if anything had been resolved, but she took him inside her again and they tried their best to convince each other with their bodies that this wasn't a hopeless cause.

* * *

The next morning Thor tactfully avoided saying anything about Loki and Darcy exiting her room while Jane gave her wild eyed looks through a mostly uncomfortable breakfast. There wasn't much fanfare in their departure. Darcy and Loki had said everything they could say to one another and even though she knew she needed to say something to Thor about the feeling she had that Loki was scheming something, she did not.

Once they were gone Darcy showed Jane the swirling patterns on her skin much in the same way Jane had shown her the lightning across her skin. Her smile was bittersweet and she tried not to put too much hope in Loki taking last night's words to heart. He struck her as the type of person that achieved his goals in his own way and Darcy didn't know what that meant for her. There was an ache someplace deep within her soul and it throbbed in his absence. Jane was oddly hopeful for her, but the days were still solemn as neither knew when they were coming back.

Thor returned three days later without Loki.

Darcy wanted to believe Thor that Loki was locked away in Asgard's gilded cells again, but something in her gut told her things were not as they seemed.

* * *

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